A Little Family
by Archie KolherBondevik
Summary: Life isn't always fair, but this little family has managed to make it work.


Slowly Matthias opened his eyes as he woke from his slumber. He stared up at the ceiling as he tiredly tried to figure out why he was awake. It was still dark outside except for the moon and the stars. He was rarely awake before sunrise, with a few exceptions. He sighed softly as he rolled onto his side and couldn't help but smiles as he took in the sight of his still sleeping husband. The other man laying on his stomach, his head facing Matthias, as he used his arms as pillows and the blankets only covering his legs. He looked peaceful Matthias noted, happy to see the other sleeping soundly. It wasn't odd for the Norwegian to have nightmares. Matthias yawned and stretched his arms above his head, mindful of the headboard, before reached over to Lukas and covering him properly with the blankets.

The Dane then planted a soft kiss to the top of his head and then proceeded to sit up and look at the digital alarm clock that sat on the bedside table. It's glowing red numbers read 5:37 AM. Matthias groaned quietly to himself and stood up. He knew there would be no going back to sleep this morning as he usually went right back to sleep if he woke up before their alarm went off. If he didn't then, it usually would mean he was up for the rest of the day and so decided he would go ahead and get somewhat ready to face the day ahead of him. He made his way to the bathroom that was attached to the bedroom, flicking the light switch and shutting the door in hopes that he wouldn't wake up his sleeping husband and started his morning routine. Brush and floss his teeth, shave, wash his face, though he decided to skip fixing his hair into the organized mess of a style he chose to wear and simply brushed it for now.

As Matthias exited the bathroom, mindlessly turning off the lights, he quietly made his way over to the walk-in closet to get dressed in something other than his pajamas. He decided to go with a pair of black, loose fitting jeans and an old t-shirt with the Danish flag print on it for now, he would change later if he needed to, but he figured it was still too early to get dressed in anything nicer. Matthias made his way out of their shared bedroom and took a left down the hall, stopping at the first door to the right. He carefully opened the door a crack and peeked in. The Dane couldn't help but smile softly as he saw the child who laid upon the bed seemed to be resting peacefully at the moment. For now Matthias closed the door and began to make his way to the kitchen to grab a cup of coffee.

Once he was in the kitchen and had started the coffee pot he looked around in the fridge and pantry. Looking to see what they had he could make for breakfast. As it turned out they were in need a quite a few groceries. Matthias sighed softly at this, grocery shopping was inevitably a troublesome thing for their little family of three. He supposed he could always go by himself and spare his husband and son from having to deal with it. He knew that Lukas would be very opposed to that idea. It wasn't because the other man didn't trust him to get what they needed. It was merely that Lukas didn't like to be left by himself for prolonged periods of time. Besides, Matthias reasoned with himself, it will be good for both Lukas and Emil to get out a little bit even if it would be stressful. Maybe he could convince Lukas they should go the park the next day.

The Dane hummed a song quietly to himself as he pushed himself off the counter he'd been leaning on and walked over to the one opposite of him. He picked up a pen and some blank paper that had been placed there sometime the day before. Matthias then began to look through the cabinets, fridge, and pantry, writing down what they were needed to buy as he waited for his coffee to be finished. He only managed to get a third of the way through before it was and so poured himself a mug full adding his preferred amounts of cream and sugar. Matthias then proceeded to continue adding things to the list as he sipped his coffee. About 10 minutes later he managed to complete the list as well as his coffee.

Matthias placed the grocery list on the fridge among the few poorly drawn picture, securing it there with a magnet. The lined paper stood out against the copy paper that was covered in the scribbles of a child. The 'pictures' weren't something to be amazed by really. They were mostly just some scribbles on some paper, but the Dane considered them quite special. Emil was blind after all and even something as small as a few scribbles on paper where quiet an achievement for the boy. Matthias smiled softly as he let his eyes drift from paper to paper.

One was nothing more then some line that didn't even stay on the paper, another looked like maybe it was assumed to be a puffin. There was also one that was possibly supposed to be a dog, but it was hard to tell what it was supposed to be. Then there was Matthias' favorite one. It was of their small family of three. It showed three stick figure standing together. The stick figures were overlapping and their arms, legs, eyes, and hair weren't quiet where they should be. There was also a black mass behind the stick figure that was supposed to be Lukas. Matthias was fairly sure that it was supposed to be his wheelchair. In the neat hand writing clearly that of an adult, was each of their names.

He remembered the day he came home from running a few errands. He had left Lukas and Emil home alone as to spare them of the grueling trip it would have been. Matthias had found them in the living room, Emil sitting in front of the coffee table on the floor with Lukas sitting next to him. The Norwegian was describing what each of them looked like and helping the child place the lines close to where they should go. Matthias had ended up sitting with them til Emil had completed the drawing.

Matthias smiled softly as he fondly remembered that day. It had been such a good day. They had ended up make pastries later that night, listening to the radio and singing along. Matthias chuckled softly to himself at the memory, though his thoughts were interrupted by the sound of a door opening and bare feet hitting the hardwood floor. Matthias blinked in confusion. While Emil's sleep schedule was never quite consistent it was nevertheless a bit to early for him to be up.

Matthias quickly stood and made his way to try and stops the child from waking up Lukas. It appeared he was to slow however, as when he made it to the door Emil was being picked up by the Norwegian man. Matthias made his way into the room and was about to speak when he realized that Emil was crying.

Lukas was rocking him gently and shushing him. Trying to get the child to calm down at least a little bit. His attempts seemed to be in vain though as the child continued to cry.

Matthias swiftly made his way over, sitting down on the edge of the bed next to them. The Dane gently ran his hand through the white hair on the child's head, joining in with his husbands efforts to try and comfort their child. It took a while to calm him.

"What's wrong, little one?" Lukas asked once Emil's sobs had calmed to just a sniffle or hiccup every now and then.

"I-I had a bad dream..." Emil muttered quietly.

"Would you like to tell us about it?" Matthias offered. "It might help."

"Not really..." Emil shook his head and curled more in to Lukas' arms, hiding his face in his chest.

Matthias shifted a bit closer to the two and wrapped his arms around them, holding them close. Lukas rested his head on his husband's shoulder as he held their son close. Silent, except for their breathing and an occasional sniffle from Emil.

"Feeling better?" Matthias broke the silence after a while. He carefully pulled away from the hug just enough to look down at the child. Lukas moved to sit up straight.

"Yes, I am." Emil replied.

"That's good." Lukas said, pressing a kiss to the top Emil's head. Emil smiled softly at this.

"Are you two getting hungry?" Matthias asked as he watched his family.

"I am." Emil stated.

"As am I." Lukas replied. " How long have you been awake, Mat?"

"For a while now. I woke up and couldn't go back to sleep." He explained.

Lukas nodded in understanding and gently passed Emil over to Matthias so he could get up. Matthias does his best to assist his paraplegic husband with one hand while his other held Emil. Though Matthias knew that Lukas didn't really need the help he still liked to try and do something for him. He would, of course, fallow the Norwegian's wishes if he said he didn't want his help. As long as it was something that Matthias knew the other could do.

After Lukas transferred from the bed to his wheelchair they made their way to the kitchen.

"How about pancakes for breakfast?" Matthias asked.

"As long as there's coffee, I'll eat anything." Lukas stated.

"Pancakes sound great!" Emil said, giggling softly from his place in Matthias' arms.

Matthias laughed with a smile. Once they reached their destination he placed Emil on Lukas' lap and began to cook. As well as start the coffee for his dear husband. Matthias decided he could wait till after breakfast to tell them about the shopping trip they needed to make.


End file.
